Fender Skirts
and other lost words

Like "curb feelers" and "steering knobs". Since I'd been thinking of
cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably
have to find some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these
terms to you.

Remember "Continental kits?" They were rear bumper extenders and
spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln
Continental.

When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?" At some point
"parking brake" became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama
that went with "emergency brake".

I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the
accelerator the "foot feed."

Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth, but never anymore...
"store-bought". Of course, just about everything is store-bought
these days. But once it was bragging material to have a store-bought
dress or a store-bought bag of candy.

"Coast to coast" is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and
now means almost nothing. Now we take the term "worldwide" for granted.
This floors me.

On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our
homes. In the '50s, everyone covered their hardwood floors with, wow,
wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting
with hardwood floors. Go figure.

When's the last time you heard the quaint phrase "in a family way"?
It's hard to imagine that the word "pregnant" was once considered a little
too graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company. So we had all
that talk about stork visits and "being in a family way" or simply
"expecting".

Apparently "brassiere" is a word no longer in usage. I said it the
other day and my daughter cracked up. I guess it's just "bra" now.

"Unmentionables" probably wouldn't be understood at all.

It's hard to recall that this word was once said in a whisper -"divorce".
And no one is called a "divorcee" anymore. Certainly not a "gay
divorcee".

Come to think of it, "confirmed bachelors" and "career girls" are long
gone, too.

Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here's a pure '60s word I
came across the other day - "rat fink". Ooh, what a nasty put-down!

Here's a word I miss -- "percolator". That was just a fun word to say.
And what was it replaced with? "Coffeemaker". How dull. Mr. Coffee,
I blame you for this.

I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern
and now sound so retro. Words like "DynaFlow" and "ElectraLuxe".
Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with "SpectraVision"!

Food for thought - Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? Nobody
complains of that anymore. Maybe that's what castor oil cured, because
I never hear mothers threatening their kids with castor oil anymore.